Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of the terrifying Pennywise in the IT movie adaptations left a lasting impact on the actor, with some unsettling dreams haunting him long after filming wrapped. In a recent interview, the 34-year-old actor opened up about the bizarre and intense dreams that followed his time on the IT sets, revealing how his transformation into the iconic clown affected his psyche.
Skarsgård’s Struggle to Separate from Pennywise
In an interview with Vanity Fair for the 31st annual Hollywood issue, Skarsgård shared that after finishing the films, he experienced strange dreams where he found himself confronting or becoming Pennywise. He vividly recalled one particular dream where he was walking through his hometown streets dressed as the killer clown.
“It was this weird thing where I was trying to separate myself from this thing, literally back in the place that I grew up in, in the same apartment that I grew up in,” Skarsgård said. He described the odd sensation of seeing himself as Pennywise in the familiar surroundings of his childhood. “I was like, ‘No, no. I shouldn’t be out here in public walking around like this. This is not how it’s supposed to be done.’”
The actor explained that these dreams were a way for his mind to process the role, but they also left him with the sense of not being able to fully escape the haunting character, even after filming had ended.
Skarsgård’s Evolution as an Actor
Skarsgård’s portrayal of Pennywise in IT (2017) and IT: Chapter Two (2019) was widely praised for its chilling intensity, and the actor admitted that the role had a unique psychological grip on him. “Pennywise became my ultimate transformation,” Skarsgård said, emphasizing his enjoyment of fully embodying the character. His ability to immerse himself in the role became an important part of his acting style. “I just really enjoyed it,” he added.
However, Skarsgård has continued to evolve as an actor, taking on new challenges in roles that are very different from Pennywise. In the upcoming horror film Nosferatu, Skarsgård takes on the role of Count Orlok, the gothic vampire from the 1922 silent film. This new character represents a departure from Pennywise in many ways, with Skarsgård noting the stark contrast between the two.
“Orlok was even further away from who I am than Pennywise was,” Skarsgård explained. He described how the role required a different kind of transformation, from his voice to his posture and appearance. “My voice, posture, age, the look of it, it was just so far out there. That became the challenge,” he said, noting that the creation of Orlok involved exploring numerous creative and “trippy” ideas before settling on the final look.
The Strangeness of Transforming into Orlok
While Pennywise was already a deeply transformative role for Skarsgård, playing Count Orlok presented an even greater challenge. He described the experience of embodying Orlok as “terrifying,” emphasizing how little of himself he could incorporate into the character. “With Orlok I couldn’t use any of myself in it. Like, Bill cannot be here at all. And that’s terrifying,” he shared in a separate interview with AnOther magazine.
Skarsgård also explained that the extreme makeup and physical transformation involved in playing Orlok made it feel completely alien to him. “I had a hard time committing to performing it, it felt so strange and uncomfortable,” he admitted. This discomfort, however, was part of the appeal of taking on such an intricate and abstract character.
Skarsgård will reprise his role as Pennywise in the upcoming IT prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry, which is set to premiere on Max. While he continues to explore different and more abstract roles like Orlok, Skarsgård’s connection to Pennywise remains a defining part of his career.
Nosferatu, where Skarsgård plays the iconic vampire, will be released in theaters on December 25, 2024.
For more updates on Bill Skarsgård and his roles, tune in to Vviptimes.
Sources:
Vanity Fair, AnOther magazine, People
Leave a Reply